They Weren't Better or Happier wout him: Harry & Hermione wout Ron
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: Parallel story to "Neither Could Live or Survive". This time, we are dealing with Harry and Hermione dealing with Ron's death.
1. Chapter 1: Defeat & Attempts to Preserve

**Defeat and Attempts to Preserve Life**

In the Great Hall, the Battle of Hogwarts was raging fiercely. Ron Weasley was battling Voldemort himself, and actually seemed to be holding his own against the Dark Lord. His confidence was growing, and Voldemort seemed to be getting annoyed with his challenger. He was now using verbal attacks to try and knock Ron off-balance; nothing was working, though.

"I know what you are!" Voldemort roared at the redhead.

"I am the best there ever was!" Ron countered, as he fired spells.

"You're a tragedy!"

"Me? Tragic?" Ron laughed. He prepared to charge Voldemort with his wand, but what the evil wizard said next stopped him cold.

"She was leaving you, Weasley!" he screeched, almost desperate now. Ron stopped cold, the glint leaving his eyes and almost now transferring into Voldemort's. There, he had the boy's attention now.

"Your Hermione was leaving you. Why should she stay? You have nothing to offer - you are incomplete!" As he spoke, he saw Ron staring at the bushy-haired know-it-all, fighting his top follower Bellatrix Lestrange, almost in slow motion, a distance away. Voldemort rushed the boy and fired a spell, which Ron now barely countered. Between crossed wands, Voldemort sneered before punching Ron and sending him reeling back into a stone column.

"Let us now take a peek into the future!" Ron saw what was coming and didn't like it. It was happening again; the psychological torture, the sowing of those feelings of inadequacy and rejection that he had felt all his life - he could not let them get to him now! He ran wide, looking to charge Voldemort as the dark lord continued mocking him.

"What's this I see? A girl lying in a bed. She seems to be unconscious."

"I'll wake her up!" Ron screamed, firing spells at Voldemort, who blocked them all and then crossed their wands.

"I'm afraid she's in a coma."

"I'll call out her name!"

"She can't hear you."

"No!"

"She can't _see_ you."

"Hermione!"

"She's forgotten all about you!"

"No! Please! Stop it!"

Voldemort slashed up with his wand, leaving a gash in Ron's forehead as the boy stumbled back again, into some bleachers pushed against the walls. The redhead did not look remotely confident anymore. With tears streaking down his face and short, raspy breathing, he looked weak and feeble. Voldemort grinned in triumph.

"What's this I see? There is another in your place…. her husband! And it's not you!"

Ron could only imagine whom Voldemort might be referring to. With one last effort, he tried to disarm the evil wizard. Once again, he was blocked, and the Dark Lord closed in for the kill. He slashed down, hitting Ron on the head and knocking the boy to the floor at last. Voldemort's wand at his chin, Ron was then slowly forced to stand up again, now for the whole hushed Hall to see, defeated. Voldemort kicked him into a column before rushing forward and starting to choke Ron. The Hogwarts defenders were screaming now, Hermione loudest of all, but Bellatrix was holding her back.

Voldemort hit Ron on the head again so that his opponent fell to his knees, before kicking him in the back so that he fell, almost in slow motion to the floor again.

"NO!" Hermione screamed. Voldemort was ready to kill now. He produced a knife from his robes and threw it into Ron's chest.

Roars of protest went up, and a horde rushed Voldemort. He was swept away and the battle resumed; in the confusion and anger, Ron was forgotten. Hermione tried to get to him, but the crowd consumed her as well.

* * *

At long last, Harry reappeared from the dead and killed Voldemort. As people were celebrating, bodies were being moved into the Entrance Hall. That's when Hermione remembered: Ron! Heartsick, she ran out to the Entrance Hall and saw him, lying on a stretcher - alive, but barely. She knelt by his side.

"You're alright," he got out.

"Don't worry about me," Hermione ordered in her bossy way, even as she began to cry. She started to gently try and pull out the knife still lodged in his abdomen so she could clean the wound. "I'll save you; I've got Dittany in my bag…."

"'Mione." Ron interrupted, and he took her hand, even as he was shaking uncontrollably from cold, as well as the pain of the knife. "Be happy. Whatever makes you happy will make me happy. I…. love…. you…." He closed his eyes and lay back. Hermione began to sob.

"Please don't leave me," she begged. She held him close, and whispered through her tears, "I love you." No response.

She felt his pulse. He was still alive, but would probably be dead soon. No, no, she could not lose him, not now! If she could just keep him warm until Healers arrived…

She tried every magical spell she could think of - Lumos, Flamada, even Expecto Patronum - but she was so hysterical, none of her magic worked. She sobbed and sobbed. If she couldn't get Ron warm, he would die.

Then a thought struck her - a crazy thought but still, it was a way.

Still weeping bitterly, Hermione stripped Ron of all his clothes. She then pulled off her jeans and curled up tightly next to him, using her body heat to keep him from freezing. But that wouldn't nearly be enough. She knew what she had to do. Bestriding Ron so that she now lay on top of him, she kissed him lovingly as she took his penis in her hand and guided it to her center. Shaking off her knickers, she then pressed his member into her folds, which instantly became wet. She groaned from the pain into Ron's mouth, nearly choking on her tears, but continued, burying him into her core. Once pleasure had replaced initial agony, she began to move her hips in a rhythm, grinding herself up against him. She was overjoyed when she felt Ron involuntarily respond, his lower half bucking into her. She even heard him moan against her lips, and briefly paused in the kissing and strange sex to call his name. He still did not respond.

She moved faster, almost flopping against Ron's body now, as she thrust his member into her harder, again and again. Her vision clouded, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her mouth stayed open in a small "o" - out of which came her sobs, now mixed with gasps of pleasure, short breaths, even whimpers and small cries. In between these, she would cover his mouth with hers – even forcing Ron's mouth open to breathe hot air inside, as if that might revive him that much faster (she didn't know CPR, but that was the closest thing to it). All the while, she could feel Ron's body heating up alongside her own. Yes, it was working! She just had to keep it up…where were those bloody Healers?

Suddenly, she felt a rush of liquid pour into her; Ron had orgasmed inside of her. She paused briefly, before continuing. She still had to come, and that was an excuse to keep up the warmth. A few minutes later, she did, all over him.

Exhausted, she rolled off of him, her legs and center painfully sore, waiting with the faintest hope that he would awaken. When that did not happen immediately, she distracted herself by cleaning her body, then Ron's, siphoning of their juices before dressing again. She felt like a slut, but she did not care. The loss of virginity had to happen sometime - and she had only ever wanted to lose it to Ron.

She checked on him a few minutes later. To her horror, the heat was gone; his body was cold.

She had failed. Ron was dead.

Harry and the rest of the Weasleys found her about an hour later, sobbing over his body.


	2. Chapter 2: Trying to Continue

**Trying to Continue**

Life after Ron was difficult for Hermione. In the weeks after the Battle, she busied herself with planning his and Fred's funeral and studying for her NEWTS. She tried to get Harry to study for them, but he had no intention of going back to school.

About 6 weeks after the Battle, Hermione began to feel sick and throw up regularly. One quick spell gave her the reason: she was pregnant with Ron's child. That made going back to Hogwarts even harder, but she gutted it out, and studded even more rigorously, taking her exams and passing with flying colors a semester early. She returned to the Burrow for Christmas and waited for the baby's arrival in February 1999. On the first day of that month, she gave birth to a son, whom she named Damien. The middle name, of course, was after his father. She provided for her and her child by working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry.

Meanwhile, not everything was going as…copasetic for the other Weasleys. Harry and Ginny were talking of getting married and having children right away. However, during a doctor test, they were informed that Harry had defective sperm. Natural procreation would not be possible. Ginny was crushed, and in her swirl of emotions, took this setback out on Harry himself. In retaliation, she slept with another man, a fellow student from her Hogwarts year; she ended up getting pregnant. Enraged, Harry broke up with her for good. This only made things worse, sending Ginny into a downward spiral of depression until she committed suicide with her wand, killing her child as well, in April of 1999.

Sadness would not go away, it seemed.


	3. Chapter 3: May 2nd, 1999

**May 2nd, 1999**

Hermione had not left her job that day. She was alone in the darkened, locked Ministry of Magic - drunk and despondent, an empty bottle of fire whisky on the cafeteria table in front of her. Today was the anniversary of Ron's death in the Battle. She wasn't crying - she was too drunk to cry - but she heard somebody else crying….

She looked up. Was that she that smashed? No, through blurred vision, she could see a figure at a nearby table, a bottle by his side. So, she wasn't alone. Someone else had taken solace with the bottle here tonight.

It was Harry. Drunk, crying Harry, probably mourning Ginny still, no doubt. She walked over to him and sat beside him. He looked up.

"Oh, it's [hic] you. Go 'way, 'Mione. Need to be alone."

"Are you…um…sad bout Gin?"

"After drinking a liter of the stuff, whadaya think?"

"No, Gin _ny_."

"Of course I a-a-ammm! She's…. she's dead, isn't she?"

"For bollock's sakes, Harry, it's been almost a month! Haven't you been with another woman yet?"

"No, why would I?"

"Because! When a woman sees a lonely man, it drives them away! But a bloke who they know has been with many women is interesting...and it excites them." With a sudden thought, she leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. Harry pulled back after the briefest instant.

"'Mione, if this is you feeling sorry for…"

"Sssh," she whispered. Harry took her face in his hands and kissed her in return. Hermione leaned in and closed her eyes, deepening the kiss. She slipped Harry's light Auror jacket off of him as she wrapped her arms about him, tightening her grip. The kiss increased in passion. Harry finally relented and began to enjoy himself. He squeezed Hermione close and leaned her over the rows of seats. They kissed open-mouthed, their lips buried into each other's, Hermione quietly moaning, squealing and sighing against Harry's lips. She played with Harry's hair before moving down to pet his chest. A few moments more, and they broke the kiss as Hermione got air to gasp, "Have you got any protection?"

"What?" Harry, still drunk, hissed with lust.

"Me neither," Hermione said absentmindedly. "Usually, I have some in my purse, but…" _Oh, to hell with it!_ she thought.

Hermione, feeling brave and gutsy thanks in no small part to the alcohol, pushed Harry flat onto his back on the cafeteria table and moved to straddle him. She managed to unbutton his shirt before discarding it, and ran her hands sensuously down his bare chest as she now moved to kiss his neck. Harry held Hermione close in a tight kiss and began to strip her of her tight business suit, first with the brown coat. He ran his hands down Hermione's sides and pulled her white blouse over her head. When he couldn't remove her matching brown skirt, he simply hitched it up and then yanked her kickers down. Hermione kicked them off her long legs to reveal her womanhood.

Breaking the kiss, Harry then suddenly flipped them so that he was now on top of her. He furiously began to claw at his jeans; the button and zipper both broke completely and he pulled the pants down halfway, just below his buttocks and thus freeing his rock-hard member. Hermione watched with desperate anticipation. When she finally felt Harry's cock slam into her, her eyes grew wide and she let out a long "Ohhhhh….!" She splayed her legs, her entire body as wide as she could go, so that it looked like she was making a snow angel with her limbs. Harry thrust with a pounding fury into her again and again; he used his hands to hold himself up on the table so as not to crush Hermione beneath him. The pair flopped about the table until they got near the end. Harry then gripped the edges of the table to hold himself steady as he pumped his cock like a piston into Hermione. She, meanwhile, let Harry do all the work and just enjoyed the pleasurable sensation that she had not felt since she had used Ron to essentially fuck herself just before his death.

"Oh! Oh! Ohhh! Ah, ah! Yes, Harry, yes! Make love to me, Harry! Make love to meeeeee!"


	4. Chapter 4: Stuck Now What?

**Stuck. Now what?**

Several weeks later, at the Burrow, Harry and Hermione came downstairs to breakfast.

"We have something to tell all of you," Harry said slowly. The other Weasleys looked up. After a deep breath, Harry dropped the bomb.

"Hermione and I are pregnant."

Dead silence.

"We know what you're thinking, because we're thinking it too," Hermione broke the silence. "You're as ashamed of us as we are of ourselves. We acted foolishly. We were drunk, struggling with what has been happening lately – between Ginny and Ron and Fred. We just want you all to know that we are sorry."

Mrs. Weasley finally stood and unexpectedly held out her arms. Hermione burst into tears and ran into them.

"Oh, sweetheart," the Weasley matriarch said. "We are not ashamed of you…or Harry. Disappointed? Yes. But not ashamed."

"However," she continued, forcing both Hermione and Harry to look at her. "We think it would be best that you two get married, for the good of your baby, and for little Damien."

Hermione looked back to Harry, who came up and kissed her. "I'll go into town later today and buy a ring."

"Use Polyjuice Potion when you do," Mr. Weasley advised. "I think we all agree this wedding should be very private and quiet. We don't want the media to get wind of this; it wouldn't bode well for either of you." Harry nodded. After giving Hermione another kiss, he went upstairs to prepare to head into town.


	5. Chapter 5: Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The wedding was a quiet affair, in a secluded woodland area where Harry and Hermione had once camped on the Horcrux mission while Ron was absent.

When the preacher pronounced the Boy Who Lived and the Greatest Witch of Her Age man and wife, Harry took his bride by the waist and pulled her close. Laughing, Hermione brushed back his untidy hair as she leaned up to kiss him. Harry swept her off her feet into his arms, and the Weasleys applauded. Little Damien, only 20 months old, laughed.

The following year, on February 28th, 2000, a girl was born to Harry and Hermione. They named her Quinn.

Despite losing loved ones, Harry and Hermione had found love and a life in each other, creating a blended family.


End file.
